I'm impressed with team Mexico's performance in qualifying for Spain next year. The team was put together just this year with a number of Mexican Americans with NCAA and pro experience and native Mexicans, most notably Gustav Ayon, who plays for the Hawks now. Ayon was among the very best players in the tournament, scoring, rebounding and defending.

I'm going to be accused of trolling in saying this but here goes: Valanciunas could learn a lot from watching Ayon about how to set a proper pick, moving your feet in the post, and generally being an effective rebounder/defender without getting in foul trouble.

I'm going to be accused of trolling in saying this but here goes: Valanciunas could learn a lot from watching Ayon about how to set a proper pick, moving your feet in the post, and generally being an effective rebounder/defender without getting in foul trouble.

Their Per-36s are pretty similar from last year, however Jonas was only a rookie at the time, and Ayon was 28 years old. Also, if Jonas really could learn anything from him, I can't imagine the Bucks would have released him.

I'd say Jonas will be a better player than Ayon next season.

"That was Nasty right? Cocked that Joint back and banged on 'em." -James Johnson

Their Per-36s are pretty similar from last year, however Jonas was only a rookie at the time, and Ayon was 28 years old. Also, if Jonas really could learn anything from him, I can't imagine the Bucks would have released him.

I'd say Jonas will be a better player than Ayon next season.

Jonas has bad footwork compared to Ayon. Ayon has a better touch around the rim, also. JV is younger and bigger and will get better. Ayon is at the top of his game right now. JV has been underwhelming in Slovenia.

I don't think there's that much blame necessary. I'd say Nash probably put together the most talented lineup he could with the guys he had available, and Triano did a decent job managing that lineup. Though between them, their inability to come up with a real SF solution ended up being an issue at times. Going with three bigs will be much more effective when the big playing SF is Bennett and not Doornekamp. There's also a lot of specialists on this team, which makes putting balanced lineups on the floor a challenge. Guys like Anthony, Rautins, and Heslip belong on this team, but you'd ideally like to be playing them more situationally, rather than counting on them for minutes.
But ultimately a lack of experience amongst their most skilled players and a lack of skill amongst their most experienced players was their downfall. It's going to be an ongoing issue for team Canada: their most talented players will be going the NBA route and lack the understanding of the international game. It's an issue that a team like the US can overcome with elite skill. For Canada, it'll be more of a challenge, even as their skill level improves. Nicholson was where this was most visible: couldn't stay in games, despite the fact that refs were calling him for the exact same things all tournament long. He needed to stop assuming that the refs were wrong and instead try to learn what he was doing wrong.
I think you could also say that there was a lack of clutchness on this team. They didn't have a real idea of how to close out games, except when they had the luxury of a couple hot 3-point shooters. You look at the guys who really burned them this tournament, and it was rarely young guys... it was skilled veterans. FIBA tournaments are made for skilled veterans. Canada has exactly zero of them.

Octo, I generally love your posts in this whole thread, but I think you're really stretching the definition of "skilled" here. Are we saying that Nestor (who?) Colmenares is a skilled veteran that trumps anything we have???

Mexico wins the FIBA Americas tournament. Puerto Rico had a good look to win it at the buzzer but hit iron. The all tournament team was Campazzo and Scola from Argentina, Balkman and Berea from Puerto Rico, and Gustavo Ayon from Mexico. Ayon was the tournament MVP.

It was a surprising outcome. Barring winning a wild card spot, which I hear is unlikely, Canada's next important competition will be Olympic qualification in 2015. That FIBA Americas tournament will be tougher with only two spots qualifying for the Rio Olympics with the USA already in with the previous gold from London.

Here is an summary article on Canada's performance with some good comments. To solely blame lack of experience, or so-called "skilled" veterans for the disappointing finish, is not really looking at the total picture. The article and the comment section both have some interesting and diverse viewpoints worth considering....